


The Depths of You

by EntameWitchLulu



Series: Femslash February 2021 [6]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: F/F, Mild Language, mermaid au, mild violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:15:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29269356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EntameWitchLulu/pseuds/EntameWitchLulu
Summary: After witnessing a human girl throw something into the ocean, and get pushed in by her pursuers, Masumi impulsively decides to rescue her.
Relationships: Hiiragi Yuzu/Koutsu Masumi
Series: Femslash February 2021 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2139543
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	The Depths of You

Masumi heard the footsteps pounding against the wood before she saw who they belonged to, and she ducked beneath the dock, cursing softly to herself. 

The moon was dark, at least, and human eyes shouldn’t be able to pick her out in the waves. But what bad luck — she’d been  _ certain _ no human would be out by the docks this late at night. They rarely came so close to the waves when it was dark, especially when the moon was out. Masumi’s people had put enough fear of the water into them for that. It had been the perfect night to harvest pearls from the oysters that only hugged the edges of manmade structures, the oysters that no matter what she did, could not get to produce pearls like the ones in human harbors. And now, here was trouble. She grit her teeth, but she did not yet submerge. She was too stubborn for that — she was going to get those pearls, and she wasn’t leaving without them!

The feet echoed against the wooden planks of the dock, right over Masumi’s head. Masumi drew down, only her eyes remaining over the water — not that the human could see her through wood. She listened as the gait came stumbling to a stop, as she caught the sounds of the human’s gasping lungs. Such fragile things, humans were. Unlike mermaids, they could breathe only in the air, so one would think their lungs would be stronger than a mermaid’s, which were only used rarely and got little exercise. But they always seemed so out of breath.

The dock creaked over head as Masumi listened to the panting breaths, and she flickered her tail under the water, annoyed. How long would the human stand there? Maybe she ought to pull them into the harbor, just to teach them a lesson.

But then her ears caught to another sound — faint shouting. The dock creaked under the human’s footsteps. Masumi heard a gasped word that she recognized as some obscenity. Her human speak wasn’t  _ excellent, _ but she’d heard that one from sailors often. The voice, however, was much higher, softer than the gruff, rumbling voices of most sailors.

Another faint shouting, coming closer. Through the slats in the wood, Masumi could just barely see the faint flicker of torchlight. She swore silently. She might have to wait another month to get her pearls after all.

Overhead, the human swore again. For a moment, they shifted from foot to foot. Then, with a sharp breath, Masumi heard them grunt and dock creak under their shifting weight. Masumi flinched at the huge splash that followed it, jerking back further under the dock. What was  _ that _ ? Had they just thrown something into the harbor? But what?

_ “There she is!” _

Overhead, the human’s feet spun around. The torchlight grew closer, flickering over the wood and through the slats, causing Masumi to duck down further. She heard more feet on the dock, heavy, clomping footsteps. A faint gasp as one seized the first human. Then there was shouting, harsh words that Masumi could only half understand — words like  _ where _ and  _ it _ and more obscenities.

Then the high, soft voice responded, in a defiant tone. Masumi only understood  _ gone _ and  _ never find it _ . 

For a moment, the feet only shifted back and forth. Then a growling, gruff voice spat something Masumi couldn’t understand — and another splash rocked the harbor as one human was shoved straight off the dock.

Masumi did submerge this time, certain for a breath that someone had just dove in to find  _ her _ . But as she slipped under the water, she caught sight of the human — it was a girl, and her skirts were quickly filling with the sea. Though she thrashed and kicked, there was no way she was reaching the surface with all that fabric dragging her down.

She didn’t look towards Masumi — she only clawed for the surface. Desperation and...and defiance shone in her eyes. Masumi couldn’t help but stare at her eyes for a moment. They were so blue...as blue as the sea in the morning rays, faceted like jewels in sunken ships. The girl’s eyes didn’t turn towards her. For her and her weak human eyes, the sea must be one unending black void. And yet, even so, she didn’t give up. She thrashed, clawing at her skirts, trying to rip them off to lose their weight. But still, she sank, further and further. She would drown soon, for certain. Humans needed so much air.

Perhaps if it had been someone else, Masumi wouldn’t have stopped. Perhaps she would have just darted off, before anyone could see her. But curiosity stayed her. Why had the human been pushed into the sea? What was it she had thrown into the harbor? And if it was the sort of thing that losing resulted in being so treated by her fellow humans...why had she done it?

Why did, even now, she look so defiant, as though she weren’t about to die?

So Masumi decided to make what was really a stupid decision. She spun down towards the girl, and shot after her. 

The girl flinched in her arms when Masumi grabbed hold of her. Her eyes stared wildly into the dark, staring up at what must be little more than pure blackness to her. But when Masumi briefly pressed her lips to hers, she stilled. She accepted the air that Masumi breathed into her throat, the kiss that would grant her at least a few moments of survival beneath the waves. Humans apparently told stories about a mermaid’s kiss granting one eternal breath beneath the sea — a fairy tale, of course. But the weak venom that Masumi breathed onto the girl’s tongue would be enough to freeze her for a few moments, to prevent her from breathing in water. It would have to be enough.

Masumi finished the work of ripping off the heaviest of the girl’s skirts so she wouldn’t drag her down. Then, holding her under the arms, Masumi unfurled her tail to its full length and sliced through the water, out towards the open sea.

* * *

When Yuzu awoke, she tasted salt on her lips, and felt sand against her cheek, and the first thought that ran through her mind was that she hadn’t expected to wake up again. 

The second was that she had had the strangest dream.

Yuzu coughed, and water spittled from her lips, though not nearly as much as she would have thought, after being tossed into the harbor. Her cheek burned with the warmth of the sun peeking over the horizon, though the rest of her shivered. She was  _ cold _ . Her clothes were soaked.

Still coughing, eyes watering, Yuzu pulled herself up to her knees. Everything shook. She could barely keep up her weight against her arms to shift herself to a sitting position. She realized why she was so cold — her clothes weren’t just soaked, but some of them were ripped away. Her hakama were nearly completely gone, leaving her legs mostly bare. That’s right...she remembered struggling to rip the fabric off so that it wouldn’t drag her into the depths...

But...but how had she gotten  _ here _ ?

Yuzu finally got enough breath in her lungs to be able to look around. She was on a small beach, enclosed on one side by a high stone cliff, and trailing off into the ocean on the other side. Behind her, she could hear the buzz of insects and the call of birds from the white-barked trees that stood, silent and spindly, in a thick growth that she couldn’t see too much further through. The waves lapped at the beach, inches from her toes. Had...had she managed to wash up on a beach somewhere rather than drown? But where  _ was _ she? She couldn’t see any land save for what she stood on...the ocean stretched on forever everywhere she could see.

A faint splashing caught her attention, and she drew her shoulders into herself as she whipped towards it.

At first, she thought it was simply a girl, swimming, for some reason, in the cold spring ocean. But as the head and shoulders drew nearer, up to the shallows, it was obvious she was no ordinary girl.

Yuzu’s mouth dropped open as she watched the girl’s body begin to appear a bit at a time, as she pulled herself out of the surf and half onto the beach — revealing smooth, brown skin, soft hands, long black hair, and...and a long, powerful tail, cloaked in pearly blue scales like sapphires that winked and glittered in the early morning light.

“Oh great gods,” Yuzu murmured. A  _ mermaid _ . It was a  _ mermaid _ . Automatically, she pressed her palms together in a symbol of supplication, so shocked was she to actually  _ see _ one of the great gods of the sea.

The mermaid girl looked at her, her eyes such a vibrant brown that when the light hit them they looked like deep red rubies. Yuzu wasn’t sure she could read her face the same way she might a human’s, but she looked almost bemused, raising both eyebrows as she noted Yuzu’s hands pressed together.

The mermaid tossed something to her, and Yuzu startled, catching it automatically. Her lips parted as she realized what she held, and her hand shot up to her head. Sure enough, her hair ties were gone, her hair still soaked and bedraggled. But in her hands, soaked but still shiny, was one of the two blue orbs, her sacred hair clips she’d received on her initiation at the temple.

“Could only find one.”

Yuzu’s head shot up, staring at the mermaid. She spoke human language with a strange, lilting tone that seemed to have a melody thrumming somewhere in her throat behind it. The mermaid studied Yuzu for a moment, as though gauging whether she understood. She tilted her head, and said something else, this time in another language — the language of the country across the sea from hers, Yuzu realized. She didn’t understand it, but she recognized the sound of the syllables.

“I — I’m sorry, I understood you the first time,” she said.

She’d known that mermaids were powerful beings, but she’d never guessed that they’d deign to learn the speech of humans, much less two different languages. She was surprised, too, to see the mermaid’s lips twitch into a faint, smug smile.

“Right first time,” she said, sounding proud of herself.

She pulled herself up onto the beach a bit more, turning around so that she was sitting facing the ocean, her tail still half submerged. She tilted her head back towards Yuzu, and Yuzu couldn’t help but be entranced. The way her hair slid off her shoulders, as soft and silky as though it were perfectly dry, despite having just been dunked into the ocean...the soft, almost dolphin like shine to her skin, the curve of her nose....she was beautiful in every sense of the word. Yuzu could hardly speak in the presence of her.

She also wasn’t wearing a top, and Yuzu flushed to realize that her top half was  _ extremely _ like a human’s. She thought that perhaps mermaids didn’t care to cover such things, but she felt a bit rude for looking at her.

“Masumi.”

Yuzu startled from her thoughts. She realized the mermaid was gesturing to herself, raising her eyebrows.

“I. Masumi,” she said. “You?”

She gestured to Yuzu, and Yuzu’s lips parted. The...the mermaid had given Yuzu her name. Her name was  _ Masumi _ . It rolled off her tongue like honey. That the mermaid would ask her name...

“I...I’m Yuzu,” Yuzu said, as she realized she was staring dumbly again. “Yuzu.”

She gestured to herself. Masumi’s lips twitched, and she nodded. After a few beats of silence, Yuzu shifted onto her knees.

“Did...did you save me?” she asked. “Did you bring me here?”

Masumi’s eyes flickered to her. It seemed for a moment she was translating in her head before she understood the question, and then she half smirked, as though extremely pleased with herself. She nodded.

Yuzu’s heart fluttered. The mermaid...the mermaid had  _ rescued  _ her. Had the ocean somehow heard Yuzu’s prayers, after all? For the first time since she had fled from the shrine, she felt her limbs turn to jelly with relief. She clutched her hair clip to her chest, hands shaking.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “ _ Thank _ you.”

The little smirk on the Masumi’s lips faded, leaving behind only a sharp curiosity.

“Why run?” she asked. “What did throw?”

She pointed, and Yuzu’s gaze followed her finger. Her eyes widened. She gasped. Immediately, there was strength in her legs again, and she scrambled up to her feet, stumbling over to the sack Masumi pointed to. She popped it open and dug inside. The main contents were rice, since soaked through and soggy from their time in the ocean, feeling like clay to Yuzu’s hands. But when she dug to the bottom...

Her fingers touched metal. Carefully, she extracted it from the bag.

Masumi’s eyes shone with interest as Yuzu lifted the bracelet out of the mess of rice. A few grains stuck to its shiny surface, but Yuzu brushed them away, cleaning off the deep pink gemstones inset on either side of it.

“Jewelry?” Masumi asked.

“It’s sacred,” Yuzu said. “It belonged to a goddess.”

Masumi frowned at that, staring at the bracelet.

“You wear it?”

Yuzu shook her head quickly.

“Oh, no, no, not me! I’m just an acolyte.”

Masumi squinted.

“Acolyte,” she repeated, clearly not familiar with the word. Yuzu wondered what words a mermaid would learn naturally, just listening to people talk from the beach or their ships. How could she explain it?

“In training,” she tried to explain. “Training to serve gods.”

That seemed to make sense to Masumi, as her eyes lit with recognition. She said something in a musical, lilting tone that sent a shudder down Yuzu’s spine, as though it were ringing against her bones. Was that the tongue of mermaids?

“That is you,” Masumi said, pointing to Yuzu, and repeating the word, before saying “Acolyte” again.

Yuzu hesitated, trying to wrap her lips around the sound Masumi had made. It seemed as though it had come from somewhere deep within her, reverberating from some organ in her chest that Yuzu didn’t have. But she tried it anyway. She tried to catch the musical tones of the word. It sounded tone-deaf to her when she spoke it, but Masumi looked pleased, as though pleasantly surprised that Yuzu had even tried to pronounce it.

She nodded to the bracelet again.

“Important?”

Yuzu clutched the bracelet to her chest, her heart hammering against it. So certain she had been that she would never see it again. It had been like breaking her own heart, throwing it into the ocean — but better that the sea took it than the invaders. That Masumi had not only saved her, but found her hair clip,  _ and _ the bracelet...Yuzu could not say words that would express her gratitude, even if she had been able to speak the language of mermaids.

“Yes,” she whispered. “ _ Thank you _ .”

* * *

The human girl was a strange one. She didn’t run in fear or cower when she saw Masumi. There was no horror or fright in her eyes when Masumi pulled herself from the surf and revealed her tail — an impulsive decision, Masumi had had to admit. But she’d been curious. How would the girl react to her?

Turns out, she reacted as though she were seeing a god, and Masumi couldn’t help but be a  _ little _ proud of herself for that.

But she had such a sweet, kind smile. And the stumbling way she tried to echo Masumi’s own tongue — it was a little flat, but she had a better grip of the underlying harmony than Masumi would think a human could. It sent a thrum of interest through Masumi. She wanted to know more. Who was this girl, who called herself a servant of the gods, who would rather drown than allow another human to take that bracelet? Something about it made Masumi curious.

“Where are we?” Yuzu asked, after a few moments of silence. 

Masumi considered how to answer. She didn’t know enough geographical words. So she settled for pointing.

“From there,” she said, pointing towards the sun, now just barely over the horizon. “Some hours.”

Yuzu nodded.

“Are there people here?”

Masumi nodded.

“Some,” she said. “Other side.”

She pointed through the woods. Yuzu breathed out a sigh of relief, smiling.

“I think I know where this is, then,” she said. She winced, coughing. Her throat sounded suddenly raspy and dry. Ah, that’s right. Humans needed to drink fresh water.

Masumi tilted her head at her. Then she started to push herself back into the surf. Yuzu’s eyes widened, sitting straight up.

“You’re leaving?” she asked. She sounded so sad. It made Masumi hesitate. She shook her head, though, and pointed at Yuzu, then at the beach.

“Follow,” she said.

“I’m not much of a swimmer...”

Masumi rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“You walk. Follow.”

Gods, talking human was so exhausting. Not enough words. She pushed herself into the water so that it was deep enough for her to swim, and began to swim parallel to the beach. After a bit, Yuzu seemed to understand, and she stood quickly. 

She followed along on the beach after Masumi, and the sun was nearly halfway to its peak when they reached Masumi’s destination.

The mouth of a river poured into the sea, coming from deep within the island. The current was a bit annoying, but Masumi pushed herself up and into the river from the sea. Freshwater felt cool and tingly, and she shivered — it wasn’t unpleasant, though she wasn’t used to it. Yuzu’s eyes widened when she saw the river, and as she noticed Masumi swimming upstream, she hurried to follow her up the river and into the forest.

It was nice and quiet here. The surface could be so loud, but here, the cool spring air seemed to dampen sound beneath the trees. The sun dappled the water and made it glitter like diamonds. Yuzu seemed just as taken in by the beauty of this place, staring all around her at the trees, the flowers, the river. She followed Masumi deeper in, until Masumi reached the place she’d been looking for. The river opened up into a beautiful pool, wide and deep, fed by the web of waterfalls that cascaded gently down the cliffs at the other end. Yuzu gasped.

Masumi swam into the pool as Yuzu came to the rocky edge, and knelt down beside it.

“Drink,” Masumi said. “Safe.”

She gestured to the water. When Yuzu lifted her eyes to Masumi, the smile that spread over her lips was as iridescent as the pearls Masumi still had yet to harvest. She was uncertain what the heat in her chest meant, seeing that smile. She ducked herself into the water up to her nose.

Yuzu cupped water in her hands and drank. Masumi circled the pool a few times, wandering over to the waterfalls to look up them. They were thin, spindly things, not at all like waterfalls she’d seen in deeper mountain islands. But it was a pleasant sound, and it kept the river flowing.

She heard a little bit of a splash, then, and turned around. Yuzu had taken off what remained of her fabrics. She seemed to have noticed the other pools nearby, the ones that steamed and bubbled. Masumi couldn’t reach them from here, but she didn’t really want to, either. Hot water sounded  _ terrible. _

Yuzu, however, seemed to enjoy it. She slid into the water and let out a low, satisfied breath as she sank in up to her shoulders. That little look of pleasure that crossed her face made Masumi feel the heat in her chest again. To distract herself from it, she looked away — and her eyes caught on the bracelet.

Yuzu had left it placed gently atop her fabrics, alongside the hair ornament Masumi had found for her. It glittered in the light that filtered through the trees. Masumi couldn’t help but be entranced. It was her job to know gems, to create the lovely enchanted amulets from pearls and sunken treasure that would born adorn and protect the mermaids who came to her for spells. Something about this gem fascinated her. It was unlike anything she had ever seen. Not a pearl, not a ruby, not a diamond. It was pink, and smooth, and when she leaned her elbows on the lakeshore to examine it, it shone like an eye from the center of its flower shaped setting. Perhaps it was some type of quartz, but it seemed too solid and clear for that.

She reached out her finger and could just barely touch it. When her fingertip brushed the stone, a tingling ran up her arm. She quickly dropped her hand away, buzzing. Spellstone, she realized. Like the kind she made for her people. Did humans know how to make spellstones? Yuzu had said it belonged to a goddess.

Masumi slid her eyes back to Yuzu. She was running her hands through her hair to clean out the salt, briefly dunking it into the hot water. She had long, pretty fingers. Yuzu turned to squeeze her hair out, and noticed that Masumi was watching her. Her cheeks went red, and she automatically put her hand over her chest. What was she covering up? Masumi tilted her head. Yuzu’s cheeks went even pinker, and she sank back down into the water up to her shoulders.

“Why did you save me?” she asked, suddenly.

Masumi blinked. She considered the question. Why  _ had _ she? Had it been mere curiosity? Interest in the girl and her defiance?

“I wanted to,” Masumi finally said, simply.

Yuzu watched her for a while, lips parted. Then she smiled, and the way her sapphire eyes softened made Masumi’s tail curl up under the water.

“Thank you.”

Masumi let out a breathy laugh.

“You like saying that.”

Yuzu smiled again, and this time, she laughed. It was a musical sound.

“Because I mean it.”

* * *

Yuzu wasn’t ready to find other people again, not yet. She was pretty certain Masumi had taken her to Janoki, a small island to the west of her home harbor. She’d only visited once with her mentor, to observe a cleansing ritual, and she thought the town might be safe, probably full of those who supported the temple, and wouldn’t hand her over to the invaders. But she could put them in danger, if by some chance the invaders realized she was still alive, and the bracelet wasn’t swallowed by the sea. So she had to bide her time. With this clear water and the fruits that grew in these woods, and some luck with snares, she could live here for a while, until she figured out what to do.

She didn’t expect Masumi to hang around. The first morning she’d woken up and found Masumi gone from the pool, she’d been sure she was gone. It made her heart ache. Only a few hours she’d spent with the mermaid girl, and she felt the loss of her presence so keenly.

But then that afternoon, while Yuzu was busy decided what she would do for shelter and how to replace her torn clothing, Masumi reappeared, popping out of the pool so suddenly that Yuzu yelped and fell right on her back.

Masumi had laughed. It had been the strangest, and most beautiful sound Yuzu had ever heard. It was as though a whole chorus of melody and harmony had played in her musical laugh. She hadn’t even been able to be embarrassed.

“You’re still here?” she asked, when Masumi finally got control of herself.

Masumi shrugged.

“Yuzu is interesting.”

Yuzu smiled, and she realized then just how scared she had been to be alone. How much it would have terrified her to try and live and hide here for who knew how long, without anyone else around.

“Thank you,” she said again.

Masumi rolled her eyes, but she smiled too, pleased.

Yuzu spent her days gathering supplies, building a small lean-to, and setting snares. Masumi returned a few times with fish, and was fascinated when Yuzu cooked them over a small fire. Her eyes lit up as though the taste of cooked fish was something she’d never experienced before, and Yuzu couldn’t help but laugh at her almost childish excitement.

At night, Yuzu laid next to the pool, and they traded words. Masumi would point to something and say it in her melodic tongue, and Yuzu would repeat it, then she’d say it in her own speech. Masumi was already quite good at human speak, she just stumbled over some of the grammar, and didn’t have words for everything. Yuzu struggled to get the tones of mermaid correct, but Masumi seemed pleased with her attempts. And the more Yuzu spoke it, the more it seemed to make sense to her — almost as though it had been hiding somewhere within her, just waiting for her to give it breath.

“What gods do you serve?” Masumi asked one night, as they watched the stars through the gaps in the leaves.

She asked in human speech, and Yuzu tried to figure out how to answer in mermaid. It was they way they’d been speaking to each other lately, using each other’s tongues.

“There are many,” she said, finally. “The gods who live in the stars. Who live in the seas. Who live in the flowers, the trees, the animals. The gods who live in the space between breaths.”

She lifted her hand up to frame the stars between her fingers.

“We pay them our respects and guard their sacred places, and in return, they protect us.”

Masumi hummed to herself. Yuzu had gotten used to hearing the little tunes that she hummed in between thoughts, the way Yuzu might say ‘um’ or ‘uh.’ Masumi’s way was much prettier.

“We know of gods like those,” Masumi said. “We do not build temples. The gods temples are in us.”

She put a hand against her chest.

“The gods give us beautiful things, and through us, weave spells into the beautiful things of the world. We give them our hands, and they give us their strength to protect us.”

Yuzu smiled, turning her head over towards Masumi. The way the moonlight sparkled in her eyes made her eyes look like gemstones.

“Like the bracelet,” she said. “There’s a legend that the bracelet we kept safe was made by a goddess who took the form of a mermaid.”

Masumi looked to her, curious.

“Why?” she asked.

“The story goes that there was once a dangerous storm that threatened to rip the world apart,” Yuzu said. “It was so powerful that it would have dashed the land to pieces, and sucked away the sea.”

Masumi narrowed her eyes, as though this was too much for her to believe. Yuzu couldn’t help but laugh at the expression.

“It’s only a story,” she said. “We don’t know what the truth was.”

“And the goddess gave you a bracelet?”

Yuzu nodded.

“The goddess went to the four corners of the world, and gave each temple a piece of her power,” she said. “So long as the temples keep the bracelets safe, and out of the wrong hands, the storm will be stilled.”

Masumi glanced at it. Yuzu always kept it close to her, though she would not wear it. It wasn’t her place. It sat between them, winking in the moonlight.

“It’s not in the temple anymore,” she pointed out.

Yuzu smiled, her heart panging with sadness. She wondered if anyone else had been able to escape...

“It doesn’t have to be  _ in _ the temple,” she said. “It just can’t be used by someone with evil intensions. If someone uses the power for themself, it will drain it of its spells, and loosen the seal on the storm.”

Masumi considered this.

“It would be a complex spell,” she said. “One that  _ would _ require multiple gems.”

She hummed again.

“But if someone uses it  _ not _ for themselves? That’s all right? What a curious spell.”

“The goddess said the power she gave us could be used to protect us, if necessary,” she said. “It’s meant to help hold back the storm, but so long as we use her power for good, her power will keep flowing into the gems.”

She put her hand gently on the bracelet. Every time she did, she felt as though she could hear the ocean, like you did when you put a shell to your ear.

“But if you use it for evil, the goddess will cut off her power from it, so that she can’t be used to hurt.”

“Even if it will loose the storm?”

Yuzu looked back up at the stars.

“That’s why there’s four of them,” she said. “We get four chances to prove we’re worthy of being protected.”

Masumi didn’t respond for a long, long time. So long that Yuzu thought she was asleep, and her own eyes began to droop.

“I think as long as there’s at least one human like you,” Masumi said, her voice soft in the dark, “you all deserve to be protected.”

* * *

Yuzu was out checking her snares, and Masumi carefully set her latest catch of fish on the lake shore, so that they could cook it when she got back. She was going to get spoiled, eating cooked fish all the time, but as long as she had the opportunity for it, she was absolutely going to take it.

She pulled herself out of the water briefly so that she could sit on the side. The air felt nice against her skin, and sometimes she’d rather just laze there than have to tread water in order to feel the breeze.

She stared up through the trees at the sunlight, listening to the birds. It had been a long time since she’d headed home. No one was likely to worry. She was often gone for long periods while collecting gems. But her customers might be annoyed when she came back with no gems to show for her journey. Masumi snorted. As though she cared.

Still...it was strange, even to her, how long she had stayed. How long Yuzu had kept her entranced. She could speak mermaid almost as well as a mermaid could now, and the words sounded so sweet on her tongue, as though she was born for the music. Human speech was so much easier for Masumi now, too, and she could see the beauty in the words that she had never seen before from the way that Yuzu spoke them. 

_ I can’t stay forever _ , she thought, and it made her heart tighten.

Or could she? Could she do it forever? Live within this small copse of trees, going to the ocean only for food? She did miss the open waters — but was it a worthy trade, to spend her hours listening to Yuzu’s stories and sharing her own?

Was Yuzu’s smile a worthy exchange for this small existence they both had to live, Masumi tied to Yuzu’s bit of land, and Yuzu unable to stray far from the water? Was this good enough for Yuzu? Even if she had to hide, to keep her gem away from those who would use it for evil reasons...could this be the kind of life she wanted? Masumi suddenly felt sick. If she had left that morning...would Yuzu have stayed in this glade, or would she have journeyed onward? Was Masumi keeping her here?

Her ears twitched. Before she could put words to why, her skin suddenly began to crawl. What was it? What was wrong?

She realized too late that the birds had gone silent.

Masumi shot back into the pool, swimming to the middle. It would give her time, at least, if something dangerous appeared. Her heart thrummed against her lungs, listening. What about Yuzu? Was she safe? For the first time in her life, Masumi felt trapped by the water. Why couldn’t she walk?? Why couldn’t she have a way to go looking for — 

As though in response, a long, loud scream echoed over the trees. To anyone else, it might sound like only a shriek, of fear or pain.

But Masumi heard the music in it. She heard Yuzu crying out in the mermaid’s speech.

_ “TAKE THE BRACELET AND FLEE!” _

Masumi’s heart felt like it was about to explode. Gods.  _ Gods _ . Yuzu was somewhere in the woods, unsafe. Masumi longed to scream back to her. What was wrong? Who had found her? Telling Masumi to take the bracelet?? It had to be serious — and Masumi could do  _ nothing _ . She could not go to her aid. She had saved Yuzu once — but she couldn’t save her now.

Masumi had never felt her heart shatter before. She had never known that it would leave her feeling like glass had impaled her from the inside.

But Yuzu had called out to her. With the only breath she could spare, she had asked for Masumi’s assistance. Blinking back tears, Masumi dove back to the shore. She snatched the bracelet from the pile of Yuzu’s things, and ducked under the water.

The bracelet felt like ice in her hands, but she refused to let go of it. Her tears, on the other hand, felt hot, as they fled her and melted into the water. This was all she had. If Yuzu could not escape...if Masumi could never see her again...would this be all she’d have as a memory?

She would protect it. She promised Yuzu that, with all of her heart. No one would ever touch it. Masumi would guard it for the rest of her life.

No, she thought, angry tears blurring her gaze. No, that...that couldn’t be enough. How was that fair? All she could do was protect this thing — she couldn’t protect  _ Yuzu _ ?

She gripped the cold bracelet and stared down into its deep magenta eyes. Her jaw clenched.

“If you truly are a goddess, giving your power to this thing,” she hissed. “Why won’t you protect the people who are trying so hard to protect you?”

Anger surged through her a moment. All for this. Yuzu had been willing to die for this. And the goddess who’d charged her with that couldn’t be bothered to even give her a way to protect  _ herself _ ?

“If you are a goddess, why won’t you save her?” Masumi cried.

Then something odd happened. The bracelet got warm in Masumi’s hands. She nearly dropped it from how hot it became, but she refused to release it. It would  _ not _ slip away from her so easily.

She felt the water swirl around her. For a moment, it nearly felt...solid. As though someone, barely solid, were sliding a hand down her arm and laying it against her hands. Her fingers twitched involuntarily. Before she knew what she was doing, almost as though the bracelet moved by itself, she was slipping it onto her wrist.

* * *

Yuzu had been careless. She gasped as the man flung her to the ground, her hands throbbing from the pain of the ropes that bit into her wrists.

“Where did you hide it?” he spat into her face.

She glared at him, shaking. She was glad, then, that she had never brought the bracelet with her. As long as Masumi was waiting there...she must have heard. She must have heard Yuzu calling out, telling her to flee. Had she gone? Had she taken the bracelet with her? Her heart panged. How worried must Masumi be? She couldn’t move from her pool of water.  _ Please let her escape. I don’t want them to have her too. _

If she had at least gotten away...in the ocean, these men would never catch her. She stared defiantly up at her captor, and spat at his face.

He slapped her so hard that she careened to the ground. She gasped with pain as he seized her by the hair.

“You’re a tricksy little bitch,” he spat at her. “But you can’t keep it from us forever.”

“It belongs to the sea now,” she said, trying to keep her voice steady. “What makes you think I managed to get it?”

He probably wouldn’t believe her — that was probably the only reason she was still alive. The others of his party stood around the glade, picking at the snare they’d caught her checking, one of them smoking a pipe.

“You’re going to have to be more persuasive,” one of them called to the man holding Yuzu. “These temple girls are resilient.”

The man snorted, and let go of Yuzu’s hair. She collapsed to the ground, shaking. Masumi must be long gone by now. Right? She had to have escaped. Her heart  _ ached _ .

She’d thought...somehow, part of her had believed they could have lived like that forever. She knew Masumi couldn’t live on the land, and Yuzu couldn’t live in the sea. But...but in their little world, they’d been able to live together. She had always known it would have to end.

She’d always hoped it wouldn’t be like this.

As she tried to hold back the tears, the pain of knowing she would never see Masumi again, something moved in the trees. Her lips parted. She squinted. What...was that...? Was that...a flower?

A huge red rose poked out of a bush. Had...had that been there before? Surely it hadn’t. Yuzu stared at it. She was so surprised by the sight of it that she didn’t even flinch when she heard one of the men begin sharpening a knife. A red shape flickered at the edge of her vision, and she turned. Another rose. That  _ definitely _ hadn’t been there before.

“Don’t you dare look away from me,” the man spat, grabbing her hair again.

Then just as suddenly, he released her, shrieking. He stumbled back. Blood sprinkled the ground in front of Yuzu’s knees, and she gasped.

A rose thorn impaled his wrist, and he shook his hand wildly, trying to pull free of the long, thorny stem that had encircled him.

“What the hell?” he yelled, and the others leaped up, reaching for their knives.

Roses blossomed from every bush, every tree, every bit of free ground. They burst out of the soil and unfurled before her eyes, and she drew back — but none of them came near her. They twisted and coiled around the feet of her captors. One swore and tried to kick his foot free — no sooner had he moved, then the thorns began to creep up his legs, roses blossoming all over his body. When he opened his mouth to scream, a flower burst out of his mouth, and he fell still. One of the other men screamed, and they began to hack at the roses. Not fast enough.

Yuzu didn’t think. She pushed herself shakily to her feet and backed up. The roses did not follow her. If anything, they seemed to grow  _ around  _ her — as though they were...protecting her.

It was then she felt the hands, cool and soft, against her back, catching her when she tripped.

“I’ve got you,” Masumi’s beautiful voice whispered into her ear. “Quickly. Not all of them were caught.”

Her fingers were nimble, releasing Yuzu from her bonds, and grabbing her hand. Yuzu’s mouth hung open, dumbfounded.

“Masumi,” she gasped. “How —”

She had  _ legs _ . And despite having never walked in her life, she moved with the ease and grace of a talented athlete, dragging Yuzu through the undergrowth.

“They’re coming,” she snapped. “We don’t have time!”

“I — I told you to —”

Even in her hurry, Masumi whirled on her. She grabbed both sides of Yuzu’s face.

“Stop  _ sacrificing _ yourself,” Masumi said, her face inches from Yuzu’s. They...they were the same height, Yuzu realized. She felt faint, dizzy. Was this a dream?

She drew in a breath as she lifted her fingers to Masumi’s wrist. The bracelet. She was wearing the bracelet.

Her eyes filled with tears.

“Masumi...you...you came back for me,” she whispered.

Masumi squeezed her cheeks with her hands, then grabbed her wrist again.

“You do not get out of me so easily,” she said, with a huff. “Let’s go.”

They ran. Yuzu could hear the men crashing through the trees after them. Masumi was right, not all of them had been as unlucky as the others. Her stomach twisted. So that...that was the power of the bracelet she’d guarded all her life?

They burst out of the trees, and stumbled to a stop. Masumi gasped and panted.

“I — always — knew — human — lungs — were —  _ garbage _ ,” she wheezed.

Yuzu stumbled forward a bit more, still clinging to Masumi’s hand — and stopped.

Somehow, they’d run to the high point of the island. Before them, a sheer cliff face dropped off into the ocean below. Masumi edged forward, narrowing her eyes.

“We could jump,” she said.

“I can’t swim,” Yuzu said.

“I’ll carry you.”

“But you...”

She looked down at Masumi’s legs. Long, and toned and completely devoid of scales or fins. Was it permanent? Had Masumi....she hadn’t given up her tail entirely for Yuzu, had she?

Behind them, boots crashed through the woods, and they whirled, still holding hands. One of the men burst through the trees, his long knife glinting in the sunlight. His eyes caught on the cliff behind them, and a grin split his face.

“End of the line,” he growled. “Now hand over that bracelet, and I  _ might _ not kill you.”

Masumi’s hand tightened in Yuzu’s.

“Do you trust me,” she whispered.

Yuzu twined her fingers into Masumi’s, as both of them took a step back at the same time.

“Yes.”

It was all Masumi needed. She whipped around, seized Yuzu in an embrace, and flung them both off the side of the cliff. Yuzu heard the man’s roar of anger briefly before it was rushed away by the wind that exploded past them. She clung to Masumi as they fell, dropping down like stones towards the surf.

She felt Masumi whisper something into her ear, but she didn’t hear what it was. Then there was something cold around her wrist, and Masumi’s hand in hers, and then they hit the surf, and Yuzu stopped thinking.

* * *

The ocean was beautiful in a way Yuzu had never imagined it could be. It was so quiet beneath the waves. Sunlight filtered down as though it came through shifting stained glass. Fish darted about in gem-like colors. The salt didn’t burn the way she’d thought it would. It felt warm, and comforting. And when she heard Masumi’s voice singing, it echoed through the water so clearly it was as though they were right next to each other, even when they were far away.

Right now, of course, Masumi wasn’t far away at all. Her hands were twined into Yuzu’s, and her lips were on hers. She tasted like the ocean, warm and soft and beautiful, and Yuzu could not get enough of it. Her tail — long and as pink as the gem of the bracelet she wore, with long transparent fins somewhat unlike Masumi’s more powerful fluke — curled with Masumi’s. Under the water, their skin felt so smooth against each other, and she could not imagine ever again kissing on the surface, where they would need to come up for air.

“Will you ever go back to land?” Masumi asked her, holding her close.

Yuzu slid her arms around her, feeling the waves and the currents softly caress them, like a breeze.

“Someday,” she said, softly. “I want to know what happened to my friends. My family. I want to know they’re safe.”

She sighed deeply.

“But for now...I need to keep this safe,” she said, shaking her wrist with the bracelet. “And...and I need to be with you.”

On the surface, Masumi would have snorted. Under the water, it was a musical flurry that sounded like a laugh.

“You’re sappy,” she said. “I could go with you now, if I wanted.”

Yuzu couldn’t help but smile. Her heart thrummed, and automatically the song of joy blossomed from her chest, to know that they would never have to be apart.

“Thank you,” Yuzu whispered, nestling her head against the crook of Masumi’s neck.

Masumi hummed.

“You like saying that,” she said, and then she kissed her again, and then tumbled into the depths of the sea, and into the depths of each other.


End file.
